You could call it a date, but I frankly didn't know where I stood with Eris. My head was a mess, and I couldn't recognize some of my thoughts at times. A couple times when we were walking down the streets in the residential area, I caught Eris looking at me. She'd look away and giggle, pretending to have noticed something funny nearby. She had a habit of checking her phone that only got more severe once she had the proof of paranormal activity on video. I don't know if that was what attracted her to me, or perhaps weirdos just have that type of magnetism. Could she have liked me before I summoned Ra'zizi?

We leisurely crossed a street after a delivery truck drove by. Going past another row of houses, with trees looming over us, a thought crept in my mind. I wanted to hold Eris's hand, to feel her touch. But then, what if that would screw everything up? What if that was what Ra'zizi wanted? Also—her watching me screw my landlady notwithstanding—what if Eris she just thought of us as friends?

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a strange whining from around the corner of the fence to our right, surrounding one of the houses.

"Come on, Jordy!" a male voice said, but I couldn't see him because of the tall thujas the owner owner of the house had planted in a row just behind the fance's perimeter for privacy's sake.

"What's gotten into you?" the man repeated with a strained voice and the whining grew louder.

When we were just about to walk past the corner, Eris still glued to the phone, he appeared. Slighlty balding but otherwise healthy looking guy in a T-shirt and running pants, pulling heavily on a leash. Once I stepped up closer, I saw a dog, just around the corner and at the other end of the leash—I think it was a german shepherd, though I'm not a dog expert. It was tugging the other way for its dear life. As soon as it saw me, it started barking loudly and curled up its back, then bared its teeth and started with growling. It had a muzzle on, but it looked like it could easily tackle me. Eris eeked and almost dropped her phone while I stood still.

"Oh God damn it!" the man yelled at the dog, who was by now trying to dig its feet into the pavement. The man started walking up to his canine friend to calm it down, and momentarily turned to me. "I'm so sorry, he's usually much, much more well-behaved. I'm sorry..."

While I was observing the man struggling with his dog, my eyes met the animal's. It momentarily stopped barking and went silent for a second. In that moment, I suddenly felt that same calmness wash over me. On the contrary, I felt an unease coming from the dog, like a radiating cold. It only took another second of eye contact for Jordy to start panicking like I've never seen a dog panic before. It made a series of pathetic, desperate yelps before jumping so hard away from the owner that he fell on the ground.

"Shit! Jordy!" he yelled and let the leash out of his hands while trying to catch his fall.

But the dog didn't attack me. Instead, it turned away in a leap, twisting its body while still mid-air, and began running across the street, then down the road, sprinting as fast as it could away from us.

"Jordy! Jordy!!!" the man kept yelling. I walked up to see if he needed help, but he was already back on his feet before I could reach him. He momentarily turned to us with an apologetic face. "I'm so sorry, he's never done that before," he said, running after the dog, calling its name.

And so, we stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. I turned to Eris, only to be met with a worried stare.

"What... The hell was that?" she asked, hand on her chest.

It was me. But I only shrugged in response.

We calmed down shortly and started making our way down the block. Before turning a corner, I looked and saw the man, holding the dog by the collar. He seemed to be talking really sternly to it, and the animal let its ears and tail down, looking embarrassed.

"My friend says it's amazing!" Eris chimed in, breaking our silent climb up the stairs. We've made it back to the apartment complex. "She kinda doesn't want to believe it's real though," she said with amusement and giggled.

I smiled back and chuckled.

"Hehe," Eris continued as we were almost at the top, "she's asking if we're dating..."

She let her voice hang and looked at me expectantly. I froze up, looking at her, wondering if this was another jest of hers, but she only kept staring.

"Matt!" I heard a voice not so far away.

It was Tim.

"Matt!" he said again and started walking faster towards me. "I was trying to get in touch with you, but you don't pick up, gosh I was scared for the worst!"

Once a few steps away, he noticed Eris was walking with me.

"Oh, hello!" he greeted her. "Um, I don't think we've met..."

"I'm Eris," she said curtly and awkwardly nodded.

"Hi, I'm Tim, I'm Matt's friend," he started and put out his hand, but when Eris seemed to be a bit reluctant to shake his, he swiftly turned to me.

"Matt... how are you?"

His voice sounded distinctly worried. I sighed.

"I'm doing okay."

"R-really? No, really? But what about the..." he paused and kept turning his head to Eris and then back to me. "You know?"

"I'm dealing with it," I said and raised up my hand, opening the palm.

"Oh, that's... That's great, tha-" he stopped as soon as he noticed the marks. "Matt... This... This isn't..."

"It's the other pact," I said.

Eris seemed puzzled at the exchange. She stepped up and looked at my hand and also saw the straight lines. "Woah," she gasped and seemed intent on staring, so I held my hand up for a moment more, letting her gawk, before putting it down again. Eris's once more reached for her phone.

"This isn't good, Matt," Tim said with shaky voice, "you need to get rid of it."

"I am getting rid of it," I said. Tim was really getting on my nerves.

"No, like properly," he insisted.

"Since when do you do anything proper?" I asked and he seemed caught off-guard. "The last time we met after a long time, you were pretending to be a salesman for some pyramid scheme, and now you're trying to tell me what's good for me?"

After a moment of awkward silence, punctuated by Ra'zizi's giggle in my ear, Tim continued, "I'm no longer affiliated with that company. I found a new job... an actual job!"

A weird weight pressed on my stomach. I felt stupid.

"Well, good for you," I said and started slowly walking to my apartment. Eris followed. "But I don't think that will help me, Tim, so, if you don't mind, me and Eris have something that we need to discuss-"

"Come on Matt, I though I'm your friend! Don't you remember-"

"You gave me that book!" I said sternly. "The reason for my current state is you."

"I know, but I didn't have any other idea, and you needed something!" he said.

"Yes, and it worked, and it is working. So what?" I asked, stopping at my door. "You have another idea? Another book?"

"I got in touch with an exorcist," he announced.

We stood in front of my door in silence. Eris shuffled in place, raising one eyebrow in confusion and jutting her eyes between me and Tim.

"And this time," he said with pride, "I think we can really get you rid of them!"

We stood for a little while more. I heard a car pass by. I pulled out my keys and started unlocking my door.

"Well, Tim, me and Eris have also found something, and it's something that I think will work better," I said, turning the handle. Something about him solving this for me irked me.

"But... what? What will you do?" he asked.

"Tim, if you don't mind, I would like to keep this to myse-"

"There you are!" a lascivious female voice announced. Suzanne ran out of my apartment, clad in a very skimpy leather dress with very low cleavage. "Piece of shit, you keep me waiting so long!" she said, throwing herself at me and began to kiss and lick my cheek.

Tim stared at us, mouth wide open.

"Wait. Her eyes... I- is that-" he stuttered, but Suzanne completely ignored him.

"Come awwwnnnn, I can't waaaiiit," she groaned, pulling me in. Eris quietly followed us, nodding at Tim.

"You- you-" he stammered.

"I have things under control. I'll deal with this on my own," I announced, disappearing in the corridor, before Eris closed the door behind us.